Filling valve



Jan. 2, 1951 R HOLLlFlELD' 2,536,746

FILLING VALVE Filed June l, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 AIR COUNTER PESSUREifi? 1 X31 l* 40 Law/mime Rlfolll'lld @@MMWM A TTOR'IVYS Jan 2, `1951 1R. HOLLIFIELD 2*,536746 FILLING VALVE Filed June l, 1949 `4 Sheets-Sheet2 INVEN TOR.

Lawrence z' /mwmwww A TTOPNEYS L. R. HOLLIFIELD FILLING VALVE Jan. 2,1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June l, 1949 MQW A TTOP/VE YS Jan. 2, 1951l.. R. HoLLlFlELD 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June l, 1949 IN V EN TOR.wwlfezzcejioll'ela? BY www, 4m fw w WM A TTOENEYS Patented Jan. 2, 1951UNITED STATES PTENT OFFICE FILLING VALVE Lawrence R. Holliield, Grover,N.,C. Application June 1, 1949, serial No. 96.574

3 Claims.

This invention relates to filling apparatus and more particularly toapparatus for filling receptacles with gas-impregnated beverages.

In the bottling arts which relate to lling receptacles with carbonatedbeverages it is customary rst to introduce the syrup or avoring portionof the beverage and then to introduce carbonated Water. While theoperation of partially flling a bottle with syrup presents fewdifculties, the introduction-of carbonated Water or other gasimpregnatedliquid involves the inherent dimculty that the bottle must bepressurized to prevent foaming during the filling operation and thismust be accomplished in a manner vconsistent with accurate liquid cutolf. As a matter of fact, foaming diiculties are the principal reasonswhy it has been customary to ll bottles with carbonated beverages by 'atwo-stage operation involving first introducing the syrup and then thegas-impregnated liquid.

One of the more acute phases of the problem presented in introducing airunder pressure and carbonated water into the bottle is that of get--ting adequate cross-sectional area in the liquid conduits Which arerequired to be introduced into the mouth of the bottle. If the crosssection of the filling stem is increased, adequate filling speed isachieved but the problem of centering the stem in the mouth of thebottle becomes acute and bottle breakage and stem damage increases. Ifthe stem is reduced in size to reduce the centering problem then thereduced cross-sectional areas of the filling conduits result in seriousreduction in lling speed. Furthermore, the length as well as thediameter of the liquid conduits which lead to the mouth of the bottlehas an important bearing on lling speed.

Another problem arises because the filling valve assemblies haveheretofore been located Within p the storage tank for the carbonatedwater so that any repair or maintenance of the valve assembly requiresremoval of and loss of all of the carbonated water in the tank.

It is an object of this. invention to overcome line 8 8 of Figure 2;

226-115) .i 2 It is a further object of this invention to pro--v vide afilling valve which may be mounted ex'l ternally of a carbonated Watersupply tank and which may be isolated from the tank for removalandrepair without loss of the tank contents. Additionally, the centeredbell, nozzle and tube assembly of the present invention are ar# rangedfor easy and convenient Vremoval for cleaning purposes. p

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof inconjunction with the annexed drawings wherein; Figure l is a viewpartially in elevation and partially in vertical section of a fillingmachine constructed in accordance with the teachings o the presentinvention; Figure 2 is a view in vertical section of a lling valveaccording to the present invention shown in its open or fillingposition;

Figure 3 is a view in vertical section similar to Figure 2 but taken ata viewpoint 90 away from that of Fig-ure 2 and showing the valve in itsclosed position;

Figure 4 is a view in sectiontaken along the line 4 4 of Figure 2; IFigure 5 is a view in `section taken along the line 5--5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view in elevation of a portion of the valveoperating mechanism; f

Figure 7 is a fragmentary -view in elevationv of the valve operatingmechanism showing the cam following lever which actuates the valve;

Figure 8 is a view in section taken along the Figure 9 is a view insection taken alongthe line 9 9 of Figure 3; and, f v Figure l0 is aView in sectionktaken along the line iil-l of Figure 3.

If now more detailed reference is made to Fig-- ure l, the broadoperating principles of the machine can be understood. In fillingbottles with soft drinks such as carbonated beverages, each bottle isrst partially vled with syrup approfpriate to the final beverage to beproduced, is then filled with carbonated water to the desired level andis finally capped. The present machine is concerned with the second ofthese steps and K it should' therefore be understood that the bottles asthey are fed onto the machine of Figure 1 are already partially filledwith syrup and that after leaving the last station on the machine theywill be capped. The machine as illustrated in Figure 1 includes a rotarytable I0 driven from any suitable 3 power source, not shown, andprovided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced bottle raisingcylinders II. The bottles are received successively on the machine atthe station of the bottle raising cylinder indicated at A and eachbottle begins to be raised as soon as it is in position on therespective cylinder II. By the time each bottle reaches station B it hasbeen raised enough to be in sealing engagement with the filling Valve.As it is filled it continues to turn and as soon as the lling operationis complete the cylinder II is lowered and the bottle is ready fordischarge as indicated at station C.

The details of the supplying of bottles to and the removal of thebottles from the raising cylinders I I and the operation of the raisingcylinders themselves have not been described in detail since they areconventional and per se constitute no part of the present invention.

Centrally mounted on the table I9 is a tank Supporting casting I2 uponwhich a carbonated water supply tank I3 is mounted. This tank issupplied from below with carbonated water from a central pipe I4 leadingthrough a seal I5 maintained in position by a collar I3. The pipe I4 isstationary and, of courseL the tank I3 rotates with the table ID so thatthe seal at I5 must be of the typeV which is leakproof under conditionsof relative rotation. A depending boss II at the bottom of the tank I3cooperates with the seal I5.

At the top of the tank I3 a dome cover I8 is provided. The dome cover isheld in position by rods I9 and 2.0 which are threaded at the upper endand provided with nuts which bear on the margins of the dome. Aspacerring 2| is located between the bottom ofl the dome and the top ofthe tank I3. This ring coacts with a flanged ring 22 so as to seal thetop of the tank gas tight. In the middle of the dome IS there is locateda tting 23 provided with packing at. 24 and 25 and with compressioncollars 25 and 2l for compressing the packing. The tting 23 receives apipe 23 through which air unpressure is supplied to the top of the tankI3. As was the case in connection with pipe I4, the pipe 28 isstationary, whereas, of course, the dome, being attached to the tank I3,rotates.

A The tank I3 is provided with a plurality of valves` 29, two of whichare shown in Figure 1*. Each of these valves is supplied through achannel 39 at the bottom of the tank I3 with carbonated water andthrough a stand pipe 3I, with air under pressure. to a plane above thefull level of the carbonated water in the tank I3. During operation, apredetermined air pressure is maintained in the air space above theliquid in the tank I3. This pressure serves to maintain the CO2dissolved in carbonated water and to effect certain control functions tobe hereinafter more fully described.

As was explained in the preliminary portions of,v this specification,one of the principal advan tages of this invention is that the iillingvalves are located exteriorly of the tank so that, in the event any ofthem require maintenancev or repair, they can be removed without thenecessity of draining the tank I3 or of dismantling the apparatus as awhole. To this end. each of the valves 29 is connected to the respectivepipes 39 and 3| by removable threaded collars 32 and 33 respectively.Between the threaded collar and the point of egress of the pipe 30 fromthe bottom of the tank I3, there is located a shut-off valve 34, Asimilar shut-off valve is associ- The stand pipes 3l extend ated witheach stand pipe 3I. It is now apparent that to remove a valve 29 fromthe asembly only requires that the valves 34 and 35 be shut oi and thatthe collars 32 and 33 be removed. From a structural point of view, thevalves 29 are held from brackets 36 extending from the base of the tanki3 and bolts connect the ears on the respective valves to the respectivebrackets.

A separate drain pipe for draining the tank I3 incident to cleaningoperations is indicated at 3l. This pipe of course turns with the tankand is provided with a plug or valve, not shown, to keep it in normallyclosed condition.

It will be understood that during the course of travel oi each bottlefrom Station A through Station B to Station C, it will be raised andlowered and moved in a circular path for almost 360. Since there is avalve 29 for each raising cylinder II, it willY be appreciated that theoperation of the valves can be made responsive either to the verticalmovement of the bottle or to engagement with cams disposed in thecircular path'in which the valves move. Actually, in the presentinstance, resort is had to both of these expedients and cams 38 and 39are mounted from any iixed support adjacent the path of movement of thevalves 29 so as to intercept the path of movement of the lever lil withwhich each valve 29. is equipped. The shifting of the position of thelever 4i) controls the escape of carbonated water from the valve intothe bottle and the upward movement of they bottle controls theApositioning of the iilling stem.

If now reference is made to Figures 2, 3 and 8. an understanding of thelling valves 29 can be gained. Each valve is comprised of a main bodyportion 4I, a body portion cap 42, a separable lower body portion 43 anda bottlefengaging bell assembly 44. Disposed between the cap 4 2 and themain body portion 4I there is a flexible diaphragm 45. This diaphragm isconnected through washers 46 and 4,1 and` threaded nut 48 to a threadedvalve stem 49. At theV lower extremity of the valve stem 49, therev isdisposed a pear valve 50 co-actingV with a seat 5I to control now from achamber 52 centrally located within the main housing 4I below thediaphragm. The chamber 52 is connected by a port 53 with a channel 54leading tothe carbonated liquid supply line 30 so that the chamber 52 isnormally supplied with carbonated water at whatever pres` sure prevailswithin thetank I3. Since the pressure within the tank I3 is always aboveatmosf pheric pressure, the pressure within the chamber 52 will raisethe diaphragm. and cause the pear valveV 53 to be closed under anyconditions when atmospheric pressure prevails above the da` phragm.

Within the cap 42 and above the diaphragm, there is provided a cavity 55which communicates through a channel 56 to a vertical channel 5l which,through a channel 58, leads to a Valve 59. The valve 59 is provided witha. T-shaped cavity comprised of channels 69. 6I and 62, seeFigure 5. Ifthe Valve 59 is in the Figure 5 position, channel 5S communicatesthrough channels 60 and. 62 with a channel 63 leading to` a verticalchannel 64. Vertical channel 64 leads to air inlet pipe 33, see Figure8. Leading from ther plug valve 59 there is a channel 65 which vents toatmosphere at 56 below the axis of the valve 59 (see Figure 6). Thus itis possible, when the valve 59 is in the Figure 5 position, to admit airunder pressure. through the. channel I4v which, through channel 63,valve 59 and channel 58, can reach the channel 51. Upon reaching thechannel 51, it can pass through channel 56 into the cavity 55 and exerta pressure on the top of the diaphragm equal to the pressure of thecarbonated liquid below the diaphragm in the cavity 52. Under theseconditions the weight of the pear valve will cause it to unset so thatliquid occupying the cavity 52 may discharge into the space below thepear valve. When, however, the valve 6| is turned 90 in ananti-clockwise direction from the Figure position, the cavity 55 isplaced in communication with atmosphere since itcan vent through thechannels 56, 51, 56, 6|, E0 and 65. The air pressure in the tank |3 isnot lost, however, due to the fact that the channel 62 of the valve 59which previously registered with ,the channel 63, is now blocked and thebody of the valve 59 blocks the channel 63 so that the air pressure inchannels 64 and 63 is maintained.

From the foregoing it can be seen that when air under pressure isadmitted to the chamber 55, the pear valve 5U can be moved to the openposition shown in Figure 2, whereas, when channel 55 is vented toatmosphere, the pressure in the chamber 52 is sufficient to bias thediaphragm to the Figure 3 position and close the pear valve 50.

- In view of the fact that the pear valve 50 controls egress ofcarbonated water from the chamber 52, it is apparent that during thefilling of a bottle, the pear valve should be open. It is likewiseapparent that while the pear valve is open, a substantial positive airpressure should exist within the bottle to be lled so that evolution ofthe CO2 and resultant foaming can be prevented. Tothis latter end, themain housing 4| of each valve 29 is provided with a channel 61- whichleads through a gasket 68 into a registering channel 69 located in thelower body portion 43 of the valve assembly 29. The channel 69 extendsradially to a central channel 10 and the central channel 10 isinternally threaded at one end to receive a hollow externally threadedstern 3| which functions as the air supply stem to the bottle. Tomaintain a seal between the lower body portion 43 and the main valvebody 4|,4- a flanged sleeve 12 is provided, the threads of which engagea threaded boss 13 at the base of the main valve portion 4|. When thethreaded sleeve 12 is drawn up to a sufficient extent the gasket 68 issufficiently compressed to effect a liquid and pressure tight sealbetween the elements 43 and 4|.

' If now reference is made to Figure l0, it will be seen that the liquidissuing from the chamber 52 upon entering the lower body portion 43 isdistributed into a plurality of apertures or channels 14. These channelslead to an annular space or header chamber indicated at 15 in Figure 2,which space or chamber is defined between a resilient annular gasket 16projecting from the base of the part 43 and co-acting with a land 11disposed on the top of the bell assembly element 44. It is considereddesirable that the gasket 16 be made of rubber, either natural orsynthetic, and that it be of sufficient thickness so that it can becompressed tightly against the land 11 when the bottle is in the Figure2 position so that the-space 15 is positively sealed.

If now reference is made to Figure 9, it will be seen that the headerchamber 15 discharges into a plurality of channels 18 arranged incircumferentially spaced relationship in an annulus surrounding the stem1|. The portion of the bell assembly element 44 which is provided withthe channels -18 and which receives the stem 11 is metal and theunderside thereof defines a cavity in which there is seated a rubber orrubber-like bottle-engaging bell 19. The bottle-engaging bell isprovided with a flared mouth and isintended to seat tightly against themouth of the bottle as indicated in Figure 2.

The stem 1| terminates in a generally frusto conical end portionwhichprovides a ange at (see Figure 2). The metal portion of the bellassembly 44 defines a sleeve bearing 8| so that the bell is free toslide up and down on the stem' 1| and this bearing terminates in a aredportion 62 which can be seen and understood in both of Figures 2 and 3.s

It will be noted that the resilient portion 19 of the bell assembly 44terminates in a skirt which depends below the lower extremity of thestem 1l. Thus as the raising cylinder raises the bottle toward fillingposition, the bottle mouth engages the inner resilient surface of thebell 19 which has a centering effect on the bottle before the mouth ofthe bottle is required to receive the end of the stem 1|. This centeringeffect has been found tobe important in preventing bent stems and bottlebreakage. The limited universal movement afforded the bell assembly 44by the clearance between the bearing 8| and the stem 1| has no effect onthe seal between the land 11 and the gasket 16 and in view of theprovision of header chamber 15, it is not necessary that the channel 14register with the channels 18. 1 In conjunction with the description ofFigures 2, 3, 4 and 5, reference was made to the valve 59 and the twopositions which it occupies during the operation of the device. Themeans by which the valve 59 is moved from one position to the other willnow be explained. The valve 59 in` cludes a stem portion 83 of squarecross section (see Figure 6) which is received in its operating leverwhich is the cam follower 46 (see Figure 7). The cam follower 40 isprovided with a locking bolt 84 by which it is drawn into tightengage--` ment with the square stem 83 of the valve 59. During themovement of the valve assembly 29 in the circular path which it followsas a result of the rotation of the table I6, the upper arm 85 of theearn follower 4i) strikes the stationary cam 38 which moves it to theFigure '1 position at Station A and moves the valve 59 to the Figure 5position. This results in the filling of a bottle. By the time thebottle has been filled, the whole valve assembly has moved to theposition of cam 39 and that cam strikes the lower ar-m 36 of the camfollowerv49 and moves the valve 59 90 in a counter-clockwise directionas it isviewed in Figure 5. This is a venting position consistent withand precedent to the discharge of the bottle from the conveyor andprecedent to the reception of another bottle by that valve for filling.

The structure of the apparatus disclosed in the drawings has now beensufficiently described so that its operation may be fully understood.When a bottle is received at Station A, bearing in mind that it isalready partly filled with syrup, it is moved by the table I0 to StationB andv during that movement the raising cylinder I raises it from aposition below the bell mouth of the sealing member 19 tothe positionshown in Figure 2. Thus the. assembly 44 is raised from the Figure 3 tothe Figure 2 position during the course of movement of the bottle fromthe station at which it is received on the conveyor to the station atwhich the filling operation begins. One highly important feature of thepresent invention isthe 7 guiding of the bell assembly 44` onthe'stem-ll which adords a limited measure of universal adjustment andassures the centering of thestem 'Il within the bottle whereby bottlebreakage is greatly reduced and eiiicient operation is enhanced. Whenthe bottle has fully pressed the bell assembly 44 to its uppermostposition, the land l'- tightly engages the lower surface of the gasket'i5 and seals the header chamber i5y so that liquid may flow from thechamber 52, through the channels 14, into the chamber 15, through thechannels 'I8 and along theedges oi" the bottle in distributed fashioninto its interior. Thusfwhen the assembly 441s in the Figure 2 position.the arm 85 of the cam 40 is biased to the; Figure 'i' position, air isadmitted to the chamber 55' and the filling operation begins. Foam inglwithin the bottle, is prevented because the air; pressure existing inthe chamber 55 likewise exists in the bottle due to the channels 61, 69and.'l 'l0 and the hollow interior of the stem 7l, As the; bottleyfills, the liquid willV eventually rise to the level of the port 8lprovided in the stem 1i adjacent its lower end and this alone will stopthe filling operation,` although at the same time the arm 86 will strikethe cam 39 and vent chamber 55-to atmosphere causing closure of the pearvalve 50. As this occurs the raising cylinder Il will lowerv the bottleto the position shown at the right-hand of Figure 1 atl Station C,whereupon the bottle is removed from the machine for cap-y ping.

In view oi the fact that the air under pressure within the bottle isvented through the stem 'il during filling and in view of the fact thatthere is a continuous airV passage from the bottle packing; to the tanki3, it isv apparent that perfect equilibrium exists, since the pressureloss in the tank I3 is exactly compensated by the air returningk to thetank through the pipe 3|. When,- however, the liquid gets above thelevel of the portk 81, further venting is not possible and theintroduction of additional` liquid would cause suchY an extreme pressurerise as to immediately snap theV diaphragm d5 to its upper positionwhereby to close the pear valve.

` Upon reference to. Figures 2 and 3 it canbe seen that the main bodyportion ti oi each valve isconnected by bolts to the body portion 42whereby the latter may be easily and conveniently removed for cleaningand repairing when necessary. The entire rollerv body portion and bellassembly are likewise easily removed for cleaning or repairing by simplyunscrewing the threaded sleeve 12.

It should bev emphasized that one of the important features of thisinvention isv the factthat the lling valves are disposed wholly withoutthe tank and that the valves are arranged forindi vidua-l removal fromthe tank assembly without requiring the discharge of the tank contents,

` What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for iilling receptacles with gas impregnatedY liquidsthat-'comprises a valve body, a hollow stem depending from said body, abell assembly mounted for free sliding movement alongsaidV stem from alow positionin which the skirt of the bell depends below the end of thestem to a high position in which the bell is in.

marginal sealing engagement with a portion oi" the valve body and denestherewith a header chamber, said bell assembly having a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced channels extending therethrough from saidheader chamber to the spacel within said bell assembly adjacent thelstem, a: supply tank: for gasimpregnated liquid having a liquid spaceand a compressed air space; a4 first valve in said valve body, firstmeans es tablishing a passageway between said first valve' and thecompressed air space of said tank, second means establishing apassageway between said iirst valve and' atmosphere, third means estab-vlishing a passageway between said first valve and the hollow interior ofsaid stem, a second valve, fourth means establishing a passagewaybetween' the liquid space in said tank and said second valve, fifthmeans establishing a passageway bei tween said second valve and saidheader cham'lber. a diaphragm for controlling the operatio'nor saidsecond valve, one side of said diaphragm bea ing exposed to the pressurein the passageway established by said fourth means, and the other sideof the diaphragm being exposed to the pres# sure in the passagewayestablished by said third means, and means for selectively adjustingsaidA rirst'valve from a position closing the passageway estalilishedlby said first means and connecting the passageway established by saidthird' means to that established by said second means to a positionclosing the passageway established by said second means and connectingthe passage-y ways ofthe first and third means.

2. Apparatus for filling receptacles with gas impregnated liquids thatcomprises a rotatable supply tank for gas impregnated liquid having aliquid space and a compressed air space, a plurality of valve. bodieseach located exteriorly of said tank for rotation therewith, a hollowstein depending from each valve body, a bell assembly mountedfor slidingmovement along each stem from a low position in which the skirt of thebell depends below the end of the stem to a high position in which thebell is in marginal sealing engagement with a portion of the valve bodyand defines therewith a header chamber, each bell assembly having aplurality of circumferf entially spaced channels extending therethrough'from said header chamber to the space within said bell assembly adjacentthe stem, a rst valve in each valve body, first means establishing apassageway between each rst valve and" the; compressed air space of saidtank, second means establishing a passageway between each first valveand atmosphere, third means establishing. a passageway between eachiirst valve and the' hollow interior of said stein, a second valve ineach valve body, fourth means establishing a ing exposed" to thepressure in the passageway olf established bythe respective third means,anda means responsive to rotation of said tank foi: cyclically adjustingsuccessive rst valves from a position closing the respective passagewayestab= lished' by said' rst means and connecting the passagewayestablished by said third means to: that established by said secondmeans to at po-p sition. closing the passageway established by saidlsecond means and connecting the passagewaysfoff the iirst and thirdmeans.

3. Apparatus for lling receptacles',v with gasd impregnatedliquids thatcomprises a central taulemounted for rotation, said tank havingv aliquid space and a space for gas under pressure, av plurality ofcircumferentially-spaced valve assent#r blies arranged. exteriorly ofthe tank adjacent 9 I 1) its margin, means detachably connecting eachtank for repair or maintenance without the valve assembly for rotationwith the tank, a comnecessity of draining the tank. pressed gas conduitleading from the gas space LAWRENCE R. HOLLIFIELD. of said tank to eachof the valve assemblies, another conduit leading from the liquid spacetof 5 REFERENCES CITED Sad tank t0 each 0f the Valve assembhfs' a' re'The following references are of record in the movable connection betweeneach of said conle of this patent:

duits and the respective valve assembly and a shut-01T valve in eachconduit between the tank UNITED STATES PATENTS and the respectiveremovable connection whereby 10 Number Name Date the valve assembly maybe separated from the 1,919,665 Muller July 25, 1933 2,334,933 KantorNov. 23, 1943

